Article

2020-04-08 Africa North

Red Sea Diving Resort: The holiday village run by spies

[BBC] Arous was an idyllic holiday resort in the Sudanese desert, on the shores of the Red Sea. But this glamorous destination was also a base for Israeli agents with a secret mission. The events inspired a newly released Netflix film, Red Sea Diving Resort - and the real story is in many ways more remarkable.

"Arous on the Red Sea, a wonderful world apart," the glossy brochure says, pronouncing it "the diving and desert recreation centre of Sudan".

Illustrated with pictures of putty-coloured chalets on a sun-drenched beach, a smiling couple in scuba gear, and varieties of exotic fish, the advertisement boasts of "some of the best, clearest water in the world". As night falls - "after the landscape colours have paled" - there are, it says, "breathtaking views of the heavens, aflame with millions of stars".

Arous Village, on the fringe of spectacular coral reefs and the odd shipwreck, appears to be a diving enthusiast's dream.

The pamphlets were printed in their thousands and distributed in specialist travel agents across Europe. Reservations were booked through offices in Geneva and Khartoum. And over time hundreds of guests went on holiday there.

It was a long trek. But once at the desert oasis, they enjoyed first-rate facilities, water sports, deep-sea dives and an abundance of fresh food and wine. The visitors' book was a catalogue of glowing comments.

Posted by Besoeker 2020-04-08 01:12|| || Front Page|| [11135 views ] Top

#1 You're in The Village...

Posted by M. Murcek 2020-04-08 09:31|| 2020-04-08 09:31|| Front Page Top

#2 You forgot to mention. The purpose wasn't to spy on people but to transport people - Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-04-08 09:59|| 2020-04-08 09:59|| Front Page Top

#3 Watch the movie of the same name; it is all around fantastic.

Posted by swksvolFF 2020-04-08 11:52|| 2020-04-08 11:52|| Front Page Top

#4 Many elements of the transport of the Falashas remained a secret for years. As reported in Operation Moses, (Stein & Day 1985) "Israael would have to be cautious in its attempts to extricate the Falashas" trapped in the Sudan. Thus, it was not known until the last decade the role the Arous diving center played in their escape to Israel.

Posted by b 2020-04-08 12:05|| 2020-04-08 12:05|| Front Page Top

#5 You forgot to mention. The purpose wasn't to spy on people but to transport people

It’s the BBC — they don’t like Jews, and particularly Jews rescued by Israel. Though they are quite happy to wax sentimental about Anne Frank and similar literarily dead ones. We’ll see if the newly elected “Zionist “head of Labour, with his wife’s Jewish relations in Israel and his second-in-command who is active in the Palestinian rights movement, will make any difference.

Posted by trailing wife 2020-04-08 12:44|| 2020-04-08 12:44|| Front Page Top

#6 ^For the worse - he has to prove his "objectivity".

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-04-08 12:51|| 2020-04-08 12:51|| Front Page Top

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